The 14th Was
by Yamamoto Kou
Summary: The 14th’s last moments alive and some of what came before it. One-shot. Btw, baby Allen makes an apperance.


**The 14th Was…  
**A short one-shot D.Gray-man fic.

_**Summary**__**: **__The 14__th__'s last moments alive and some of what came before it. (One-shot. Btw, baby Allen makes an apperance.)_

_**Disclaimer: **__Katsura Hoshino owns D.Gray-man, not me and this fic is purely a product of my wild speculations. The lullaby is a translation of the one in chapter 135 by kirimi from the mangahelpers forum._

_**Spoilers: Chapter 130 and beyond.**_

* * *

He was afraid.

His dark skin was tempered with perspiration and his yellow eyes were locked towards one direction. The 14th could feel the Millennium Earl's killing intent grow ever nearer. His hands were clenched in the knowledge that he was not going down without a fight but he knew he could not win. There was nowhere to run anymore and even if there was… Doing so could compromise all that he had planned beforehand.

The Earl must remain ignorant until it becomes too late.

This was all he could do to try and end this war. The rest was up to those he had left behind.

* * *

_- On a December night past…_

There was a fire in the hearth, lighting the room with it's shimmering glow. In the middle of the room, there was a dining table with three people seated around it. They had been talking for a while now but the discussion was coming to an end.

"Mana Walker." The tall, dark figure of Mana gave a solemn nod of acknowledgement. "Cross Marian." The red headed General of the Black Order turned his head away slightly in response, not quite agreeing with what was going on but having nothing else he could say that would change anything for the better. The 14th smiled. "I'm counting on both of you."

It was then that Cross stood up and announced that he would be taking a smoke outside for a bit. The golden 'golem' flitted faithfully around the General's shoulder. Mana followed suit, saying that he'll accompany him too. The 14th understood that they wanted to talk about this among themselves, which was fine with him.

He went into the adjoining room and returned with a small bundle in his arms, wrapped in a patchwork quilt. The little boy was sound asleep but stirred as he found himself in the bright room. Silver eyes gazed sleepily from behind a small brown fringe which the 14th gently brushed back. Then he covered up the tiny deformed left arm to lessen the feeling of the Noah's urge to destroy Innocence. Regardless, he smiled a gentle smile just for Allen, but the boy already had his eyes closed. He sat down by the fire and gently rocked the baby in his arms as he looked outside the window. It was snowing that night. He turned his gaze back to the sleeping figure and then to the fire when Allen began to squirm in response to the growing wamth. The 14th then sung a lullaby.

_And so, the boy… was laid to rest.  
As I cherish his sleeping face… I counted… once, twice…  
His final breaths on the flames in the ashes.  
Thousands of dreams… have spilled upon this earth.  
Your eyes shone silver in the night… like the sparkle of your birth.  
How many prayers I've sent to where you lie eternally… over how many billions of years…  
But I'll keep on praying…  
Please, bestow your love on this child…  
Please, bestow your kiss on his hand in yours._

Allen didn't stir after he was finished and was sleeping peacefully. The 14th's human heart clenched at the thought of leaving his son in an orphanage, but Mana can't travel around with a baby. Holding onto the bundle just a bit tighter, he cherished the remaining time they had left together as he waited for Cross and Mana to return.

…_and so it passed.__-_

* * *

"Why?" asked the Millennium Earl with a wrathful face as tears of betrayal streamed past that fixed smile. The 14th was the Earl's most trusted, most favoured.

Most loved.

The 14th, the Musician, the 'Will' of Noah, a traitor.

Road Kamelot was some ways behind the Earl, watching with silent glee as the black sheep of the Noah family teeters on the verge of death. It served him right to consort with humans the way he does. But even she had a hard time accepting the truth when his treachery was first found. In that instance, her wicked smile turned taut as tears started to roll down her own cheeks. She had loved him as family too.

No longer in Noah form, the 14th's bloody and broken form lay still with his eyes looking up at the Earl, unfocused. As the darkness closed in and his eyelids grew heavy, he gave the Earl his warmest smile that also seemed painful at the same time.

Among the 14th's final thoughts were that of how he wouldn't be the Earl's sacrificial lamb any longer, of his friends, his wife, his son. Last of all was the lullaby he made for his precious boy, who would face incredible hardships in the time to come.

With that soft smile still lingering on that cold and beloved face, the Earl's scream pierced the moonlit night. All the Earl's disbelief was spent in that instant, leaving anger to boil deep in his depths.

All because of one misbegotten Noah.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__  
I can't believe it I wrote this. It's waaaaaay too sappy. Xp And it's the only fanfic I've written in YEARS. A spur of the moment thing. /  
And in case anyone didn't get it, the middle bit is like a flash back._

_Written partly because I was frustrated that there's only a very few (if any) fics with the 14__th__ Noah as the focus. I wrote this one-shot on the basis that the 14__th __was Allen's dad, Mana and Cross were his most trusted __partners-in-crime cough I mean__ conspirators ( like that's any different), and that the Earl particularly liked him (my interpretation of why the Earl was crying when he destroyed the Ark in chapter 133). Ph33r my far fetched theories! Hope you've all enjoyed it despite the vagueness of it all. I didn't dare make up anymore details. Thanks. :D_


End file.
